5200 series chiller not chilling

Purchased a 5200 chiller for my incoming machine. Got it about 2 weeks before the machine and now with the arrival of the machine the chiller seems to be a problem.

I live in the desert SW, Phoenix valley, this is the warmest time of the year :frowning:

I have the 5202 which supplies two devices and the 2nd outlet and inlet have a jumper hose. I have configured the temperature control mode to be ā€˜constant.ā€™ It was hot out and after a few minutes it did not cool the temperature at all. The manual states it should be at temperature withing 5 minutes.

I retried it until this morning after the temperatures dropped into the 60ā€™s outside, garage was still about 80.

On the display D1 is off, D2 is on. Seems to be indicating what I want it to do properly. The down arrow gives me the ambient temp which came out properly but the chiller temp would only drop about a tenth of a degree every few minutes and when the outside temperature went up, so did it. Itā€™s acting like a 5300 :frowning:

Anyone dealt with one of these? I hate to be down and really donā€™t want to play the ice game for a few weeks. The ebay seller has a perfect record, but time and transportationā€¦ that costs both of usā€¦

Check to see if you can hear or feel the compressor kicking in. It might just be a faulty relay. If the compressor is kicking in and it is not cooling, then yes you have a problem.

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besides listening for the compressor relay kicking in you can also put a watt meter inline and should notice a large increase in current once the compressor is to turn on. And like any compressor, you want fresh air to the inlet and clear area for exhaust to exit and leave the area. if the exhaust is into a wall it will cause turbulence and some of that heated air ends up getting sucked back into the inlet and greatly reduces cooling capabilities. Even better is to duct the exhaust outside or away from the unit.

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Thanksā€¦ I think itā€™s kicking in, as when it starts it runs the pump first, then it will switch to refrigeration mode. I believeā€¦ The display indicates itā€™s in refrigeration mode. And the main fans are running. Since Iā€™ve never seen/heard it run properly, Iā€™m at kind of a loss. I did find a fix it manual on it, but donā€™t really want to get into it until I hear from the seller. The configuration takes a bit to get used to as does the documentation.

Donā€™t have access to a watt meter for 120 v. Itā€™s got a few feet to all side of it for ventilation. Ambient temperature is around 100 f. Next week it will be around 117 :frowning:

You can use a clamp-on ammeter in leu of a wattmeter.

Itā€™s a good idea to have one anyway. I use mine all the time & wonder what I did without it.

The one I bought is not available on Amazon but this one is similar.

You can get them cheaper but ensure you get one that supports true RMS and the clamp will read AC and DC. The cheaper ones fake you into thinking they support AC/DC but donā€™t.

ā€¦an example meter:
https://amzn.to/2TXtynG


As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Thanks for the ā€˜wack up the side of the headā€™ā€¦ What a dummyā€¦ I actually have one but donā€™t use it for this stuff because I have to break out a line for it to work properly, at least as far as I know. Itā€™d be a cheap check. Since I wasnā€™t thinking, thanks for thinking for meā€¦ :grinning:

I keep a C13 breakout cord that I stripped the outer insulation from just to use with a clamp ammeter.

My clamp ammeter is a voltmeter that has started being very unreliable as a voltmeter (even with fresh batteries; checked that natch) so I question its reliability as a clamp ammeter. So Iā€™m on the market for one; this link is relevant to my interests, as the cool kids say.

Get an old AC cord and strip back a section of the outer insulation exposing the inner wires which are still insulated. You can clamp the meter on one of those wires to make a measurement.
I keep mine with the meter ā€¦

I have the same type of animal. Volt/ohm meter, with an amp meter.

I will do one of what you or @donkjr suggests. As with @dougl via an amp meter. What a dummy for not thinking of it myself.

The ebay company requested a video and it might be more informative for them if they can see the loading and listen to it operate. They have a 5 start rating, I keep telling myself :slight_smile:

Unfortunately, Iā€™ve never seen or heard it operate. Iā€™ll have to find a video and ā€˜seeā€™ if I can ā€˜hearā€™ a difference in itā€™s operation.

I purchased the 5202 and initially just looped the 2nd feed output to input. Ended up using the 2nd feed to run a loop through my beer cooler with 25ā€™ of copper pipe, water and ice for a heat exchanger. It also isolates my distilled water to within the machine and tube. I get a number of hours out of a bag of iceā€¦

Just got my CO2 and itā€™s summer here. Next week itā€™s forecast for 117, so my only shot will be morning use and itā€™ll probably in the 80ā€™s or more at itā€™s lowest point.

Iā€™ll let you both know when I do the measurement. Thanks, take care.

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There are no such people on this forum !!! :slight_smile:

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I have made a video for them. Long, over a gig, 11 minutes, everything is covered in the first 2 minutes. I was hoping it would fault and show the E2 code, ā€œOver high water temperatureā€

When it turns on, it sits at 0.5 amp and is running the water pump. When it attempts to refrigerate, it goes up to 2.5 amps. Iā€™m assuming it is going into refrigeration mode at that point. I have a 5200 manual and it seems to indicate that for a 110v machine it should pull around 4.5 amps. They are not too clear on what the difference is in the models.

Whatā€™s that tell you? All I get is that something should be happening that ā€œainā€™tā€. lol

Thanks everybody. At least I can run it a few hours a dayā€¦ Take care and thanks againā€¦ :slight_smile:

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